Tiffany profit surges as sales grow in all regions

MichaelCalia

Tiffany & Co. said its fiscal first quarter profit surged 50% because of broad sales growth across its regions, particularly in the Asia-Pacific area.

The results easily topped expectations.

The Asia-Pacific region posted a 17% increase to $261 million, with much of that coming from Japan, where sales jumped 20% to $174 million. By comparison, total sales in the Americas region rose 8% to $439 million.

The high-end jewelry retailer, meanwhile, raised its full-year earnings guidance by 10 cents to $4.15 to $4.25 a share, which is still below the $4.28 a share analysts had been projecting when Tiffany disclosed its initial outlook in March.

However, due to uncertainty about Japan sales in the current period, along with higher marketing costs, Tiffany said it expects earnings for the fiscal second quarter to be relatively flat compared with the year-ago period's. Analysts had projected 12% earnings growth.

In the period ended April 30, same-store sales rose 11% as most regions posted sales growth, the company said.

"This is an excellent and encouraging start to the year," Chairman and Chief Executive Michael J. Kowalski said. "We were pleased with the strong and broad-based sales growth across most regions and product categories and our ability to leverage those improved sales into very significant growth in operating and net earnings."

Overall, Tiffany reported a profit of $125.6 million, or 97 cents a share, up from $83.6 million, or 65 cents a share, in the prior-year period.

Sales rose 13% to $1.01 billion, or 15% excluding currency impacts.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of 78 cents a share and $955 million.

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